Clinton walks tightrope to woo women voters

Hillary Clinton says her life's work has been a battle to help women make their own choices, but the first rounds of the Democratic nomination race raised big doubts over whether America's women will choose her as the country's first female commander-in-chief.

The former secretary of state is on the offensive after suffering a blowout defeat to Bernie Sanders in the New Hampshire primary, where she lost out heavily to younger women despite promises to be their champion in the White House.

Two prominent Clinton supporters complicated her efforts to woo female voters last weekend with statements that triggered an embarrassing backlash by suggesting women were duty-bound to back the former first lady.

On the debate stage in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on Thursday night, the 68-year-old reached out over and over to the female electorate -- talking up her feminist credentials, but also insisting she does not take their support for granted.

"I have said many times I am not asking people to support me because I'm a woman," she said.

"I am asking people to support me because I think I am the most qualified, experienced and ready person to be the president and the commander-in-chief."

Exit polls in New Hampshire showed Clinton -- the only woman still vying for the White House -- receiving 44 percent of the female vote, compared to 55 percent for Sanders.

More troublingly, young women seem to be flocking to her rival: the 74-year-old senator from Vermont won 82 percent of the vote among women younger than 30, and 69 percent of votes from women under 45 in the state.

- 'Empowered to choose' -

New Hampshire was undeniably a blow for Clinton, who won the state in 2008 thanks to the women's vote, but she brushed off the setback on Thursday night.

"I have spent my entire adult life working toward making sure that women are empowered to make their own choices, even if that choice is not to vote for me," Clinton said.

Despite the drubbing, nationwide poll data suggests Clinton can still hope for solid support from the female constituency as the primary race intensifies, heading next to Nevada and South Carolina.

"I think she's still in a position to get plenty of support from women in this contest, especially relative to men," said Geoffrey Skelley of the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia.

Even in New Hampshire itself, she still fared considerably better among women than men -- losing them by 11 percentage points, whereas she lost the male vote by a full 35 points.

And at the national level, 48 percent of women say they would vote for Clinton and 38 percent for Sanders, according to a Quinnipiac University poll conducted from February 2 to 4. Twelve percent remain undecided.

But Clinton was put on the spot by the controversy unleashed by two high-profile backers, the feminist icon Gloria Steinem and another former secretary of state, Madeleine Albright.

- With friends like these -

Steinem apologized after suggesting young women aren't serious with their politics and were simply enticed to the Sanders camp because "the boys are with Bernie."

And Albright was forced to explain her remark that "there's a special place in hell for women who don't help each other," although she has said the phrase repeatedly over the years -- so much so that it was printed on cups at Starbucks.

Her statement prompted New York Times columnist Frank Bruni, who is gay, to ask whether there would be a "place in hell" for him if he does not support a gay candidate.

"There's a weird strain of thought swirling around Clinton's campaign: that we should vote for her because she's a woman. Or that she's inoculated from certain flaws or accusations by dint of gender," Bruni wrote.

"Voters don't like being viewed as simpletons who will support someone just because that candidate is the same gender or race," warned the University of Virginia's Skelley.

Clinton was gently dismissive of Albright's comments at Thursday's debate, sticking to her credo that women are free to back her or not.

"I think she's been saying that for as long as I've known her, which is about 25 years," Clinton said.

But she also insisted the feminist struggle was far from over, whether on pay, family leave, or equal career opportunities.

"We need a leader on women's issues," Clinton said, "to protect the hard-fought gains that women have made that, make no mistake about it, are under tremendous attack."

The key question is, will her message resonate with the younger generation?

For women born in the 1980s or 1990s, "to have a woman at the White House doesn't seem as historical for them," said Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women and Politics at Rutgers University.